Jalon Daniels will start tonight’s preseason finale against Jacksonville and will play the first half and possibly into the third quarter, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The Bucs are giving the undrafted rookie from Kansas a chance to win the backup job to Baker Mayfield.
Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak will follow Daniels tonight.
Daniels rallied the Bucs to come-from-behind wins against the Jets and Chiefs the past two weeks, and in two weeks, he is 19-of-20 for 182 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also has rushed for a score.
Daniels took the majority of reps during the Bucs' seven-on-seven period after Mayfield today, per Stroud.
OXNARD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 18: Spencer Rattler #2 of the New Orleans Saints throws during joint practice against the Dallas Cowboys at River Ridge Playing Fields on August 18, 2026 in Oxnard, California. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The New Orleans Saints face the Dallas Cowboys in the final game of the 2026 NFL Preseason. This game is Kellen Moore’s final chance to evaluate talent to round out the 2026 roster, so don’t expect any starters to play any type of significant time. The certified starters, who have their roster spots locked up, will likely not see any time on the field today as the Saints should be expected to protect their stars for the regular season opener on September 13th.
The Saints will need to use today’s game to decide who will ultimately round out the Week One roster as the regular season is finally upon us. Here’s to a safe game for both teams, and here’s to the end of another Saints preseason.
Here are your links to follow all of today’s preseason action:
Game time:
Friday, August 28th – 5:00pm PST / 7:00pm CST / 8:00pm EST
Location:
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas
Weather Forecast:
80º – Clear (Retractable roof likely to be closed)
After a long off-season, Vancouver Canucks hockey is almost back. Vancouver will kick off its 2026 training camp in a few weeks, once again hosted in Penticton. This year's event will take place from September 17-20 and will include the annual blue vs. white scrimmage.
Fans who want to attend training camp can buy tickets at
ValleyFirstTix.com. As per the Canucks press release, "tickets for Thursday, Friday and Sunday practices will be $10.00. Fans can purchase tickets for Super Saturday's scrimmage for $20.00. A select number of Full Training Camp Packages, featuring tickets to all four days through the event, will also be available for $30.00."
Vancouver's training camp will take place at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Doors are scheduled to open every day at 9:00 am PT. As per the press release, there will also be "a Q & A with select members of the team's leadership group."
Apr 14, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; The Vancouver Canucks celebrate their victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
It is Day 16 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
Strap in for Day 16 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, when we revisit the afternoon the Cowboys’ 1990s dynasty first began to feel possible. Dallas went into Soldier Field with a young roster, a backup quarterback and no playoff victory since the 1982 season. But Jimmy Johnson’s team delivered the postseason breakthrough that opened the door to everything that followed.
Sunday, December 29, 1991 — 12:30 p.m. ET
Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 17, Chicago Bears 13
The Cowboys, having finished 11-5, returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1985. However, Troy Aikman was still recovering from a knee injury, leaving Steve Beuerlein to start against an experienced Chicago team that had also gone 11-5. Despite the Bears producing more yardage throughout the afternoon, Dallas protected the football, created takeaways, and repeatedly stood firm near their own goal line.
Bill Bates helped create the opening points by forcing Jim Harbaugh to fumble on Chicago’s first possession. Defensive end Tony Hill recovered near midfield, and Ken Willis eventually converted a 27-yard field goal to give Dallas a 3-0 lead.
Special teams then presented another opportunity. Darrick Brownlow blocked a Bears’ punt, and Ken Norton Jr. recovered at the Chicago 10-yard line. Four plays later, Emmitt Smith scored from one yard out, extending the Cowboys’ advantage to 10-0 during the first quarter.
Chicago moved the ball effectively, but struggled to convert drives. During the second quarter, they reached the Dallas two-yard line, but Jack Del Rio and Tony Tolbert stopped consecutive rushing attempts, forcing a turnover on downs. Chicago later returned to the two-yard line but settled for Kevin Butler’s 19-yard field goal just before halftime, leaving Dallas ahead 10-3.
Butler added a 43-yard field goal during the third quarter to reduce the margin to four. Dallas answered with its most important offensive possession of the game, travelling 75 yards in 14 plays. Beuerlein kept the drive alive with two 22-yard completions to Michael Irvin before finding Jay Novacek for a three-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. The methodical response restored a 17-6 lead.
The Bears continued their relentless pressure in the fourth quarter. Another drive reached the Dallas seven, but Harbaugh’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete. However, Chicago eventually scored when Harbaugh connected with Tom Waddle for a six-yard touchdown, cutting the score to 17-13. This gave the Bears one final opportunity to secure the victory.
Mike Saxon’s 52-yard punt pinned Chicago at its own four-yard line with 1:50 remaining. Three plays later, Bates intercepted Harbaugh at the Bears’ 16, allowing Dallas to run out the clock. The veteran who connected the Landry era to Johnson’s rebuilding project had made the first and final defensive plays that shaped the victory.
This game belongs on the countdown because it was the moment Dallas’ young core gained postseason credibility. The Cowboys lost heavily at Detroit in the Divisional Round the following week, but the victory in Chicago proved the rebuilding process had reached a new stage.
In the final part of this series, we’ll take a look at the very best of what the Anaheim Ducks prospect pool has to offer. This list features four players drafted in the first round of the last three NHL Entry Drafts, as well as the 2025-26 CHL Player of the Year.
These five players are not only expected to complement the Ducks’ current young core, which includes stars like Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke, and Jackson LaCombe, but also to add to and stabilize it as the Ducks lean into their hopefully long competitive window.
These players all have top-of-the-lineup NHL potential, and if any number of them reach it, the Ducks will be in a position of luxury moving forward in their build.
Author’s Note: To qualify for this list, players must be rookie-eligible in 2026-27. Unfortunately, that disqualifies Tristan Luneau from this particular exercise.
In reverse order, let’s dive into the Anaheim Ducks’ top five prospects heading into the 2026-27 season:
5. Maxim Masse, 20, University of Massachusetts (NCAA)
RW, 6-foot-3, 198 pounds, 66th overall in 2024
Masse ended his junior career on an impressive note, leading the QMJHL in scoring with 102 points (51-51=102) in 63 regular season games and adding 24 (6-18=24) in 20 playoff games as his Chicoutimi Sagueneens won the QMJHL Championship. He was only able to add a goal in four Memorial Cup games, but he was the QMJHL Most Valuable Player and CHL Player of the Year for his performance in 2025-26.
Masse isn’t necessarily a playmaker or driver, but his off-puck skills are what will likely carry him as a college player next season and a professional in the future. He’s an effective straight-line skater and is an adept forechecker, affording him a versatile skill set. He possesses one of the better releases in the Ducks pipeline, and he finds his way to soft ice consistently to get it off.
Masse was able to manufacture more puck touches in his final junior season and will look to build on that in his first NCAA season at UMass. To thrive at the next level, he’ll need to round out his cycle game, but his knowledge of angles, lanes, and pressure raises his ceiling to that of a top-six forward.
NHL Arrival Prediction: 2027-28
4. Marcus Nordmark, 18, Djurgardens IF (SHL)
LW, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, 28th in ’26
Nordmark is the epitome of “boom or bust” and was one of the most talented forwards in the 2026 Draft, based on pure skill. The Ducks even traded a fourth-round pick to the Vegas Golden Knights to move up a single spot in the first round to draft him. He was highly productive at the J20 level in Sweden during his draft year and signed his ELC with the Ducks this summer, but it’s likely he’ll head back to play in the SHL this autumn.
Nordmark’s defining features include some of the most important attributes a scoring winger in the NHL can possess: quick, heavy release, vision, and hockey sense. His deficiencies include consistency, skating, and willingness to physically engage. If he’s not in a scoring role, he’s unlikely to succeed in the NHL. However, if the Ducks can refine his motor and tenacity, they’ll have a bona fide star on their hands. These are the kinds of gambles teams are asked to take by their fanbases in the late first round and into the middle rounds of the draft. He’ll either become a Kyle Connor-type offensive juggernaut or an Arthur Kaliyev-type inconsistent, one-dimensional player. There appears to be no in-between, but it was a good bet for the Ducks to make at that point in the draft, given the well-rounded nature of their current pipeline and young core.
NHL Arrival Prediction: 2028-29
3. Stian Solberg, 20, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
LHD, 6-foot-2, 207 pounds, 23rd in ’24
Playing for the Gulls in the AHL in 2025-26 was Solberg’s third straight season with a different team after he was drafted in 2024 from Valerenga of his native Norway’s top professional league and spent most of 2024-25 with Farjestad BK in the SHL. In his rookie AHL season, he notched 24 points (12-12=24) in 71 games and accumulated a substantial 102 PIMs.
Operating like a young, modern-day Jacob Trouba, Solberg’s signature trait is his physicality; he thrives in the tough areas of the ice while manufacturing a surprising number of goals by activating along the blueline and downhill into the high slot. He’s incredibly difficult to play against, and he forces opponents to earn inside ice in the defensive zone. He can fend off a forecheck and ignite a breakout with a crisp, accurate first pass, but he’ll need to iron out his gap control and angling to thrive as a shutdown defender at the NHL level. He’s currently firmly No. 4 on the Ducks organizational depth chart on the left side of their blueline, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s the first call-up among defensemen should Anaheim be in need.
NHL Arrival Prediction: 2026-27
2. Nikita Klepov, 18, Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
RW, 6-foot, 180 pounds, 15th in ’26
Significant pressure was placed on Klepov’s shoulders when, after he was selected with a pick acquired in exchange for Mason McTavish, general manager Pat Verbeek stated that had he been unavailable at 15th overall, the Ducks would not have made the trade.
Klepov was the OHL’s leading scorer in 2025-26, notching 97 points (37-90=97) in 67 games and adding five (1-4=5) in four playoff games. He was involved in a surprising turn of events following Ducks development camp, as he was originally committed to attend Michigan State University for the 2026-27 season to kick off his collegiate career, but the Ducks decided to ink him to his three-year ELC, rendering him ineligible for NCAA hockey. Now the options for the Ducks this season are to either keep him in the NHL or send him back to Saginaw to resume his junior career.
The Ducks also have the option to utilize the “Shane Wright Plan,” where he spends the first portion of the season in the NHL, perhaps joins the Gulls on a conditioning stint, plays in the World Junior Championship, and finishes the year in the OHL. Where he plays will ultimately be determined by how he arrives at and performs in Ducks rookie and training camps.
Klepov has an NHL-ready brain, motor, and skill set. He’s a cycle quarterback, always with the puck on his stick, working low in the zone, moving to the top of the circles, across the blueline, and initiating give-and-gos as a true offensive tactician. He consistently wins pucks back in the offensive zone and along the walls, but will need to increase his strength and add to his frame to carry that to the NHL level.
Klepov’s ceiling is that of a top-line, highly productive player who could see NHL minutes as early as Oct. 2.
Ducks director of amateur scouting and assistant general manager Martin Madden once said of Beckett Sennecke (before his rookie season) that he was one good summer of strength training away from becoming a full-time NHL player. Pat Verbeek said of Klepov that he could be on a fast track to the NHL. If the same logic applies and Klepov arrives at camp after a good summer of adding strength, there’s a real possibility he’s on the Ducks’ opening night roster. The team will certainly need a boost after a summer where they were unable to add significantly to their group, and with top-six forward Troy Terry expected to miss the first 2-3 months of the season.
NHL Arrival Prediction: Opening Night 2026-27
1. Roger McQueen, 19, San Diego Gulls (AHL)
C, 6-foot-5, 197 pounds, 10th in ’25
Of the Ducks prospects who haven’t “graduated” to the NHL, McQueen was selected the highest (10th overall) and had the talent to go top-five in the 2025 draft were it not for a back injury that cost him the majority of his draft year. It’s clear who the top two prospects in the Ducks system are, and it’s a coin flip on any given day who holds the title at the top. The reason McQueen edges out Klepov in this particular exercise is the premium position McQueen plays (center) vs. Klepov on the wing.
McQueen signed an ATO with the San Diego Gulls to finish his 2025-26 campaign, where he played his freshman season at Providence University and scored 27 points (11-26=27) in 36 games. The production wasn’t necessarily impressive, but given that he was coming off a significant injury, with significant development time lost, and played in a pro-style program in the NCAA, where he still finished third on his team in points (two points behind the leader), one would be hard-pressed to label his season as anything but a success.
Talent-wise, McQueen has it all. He’s long, powerful, has elite puck skills, a quick, heavy release, covers a lot of ice with his stride, and has the brain to make plays at high speeds or in tight spaces. Providence elevated his details and habits to the point where there wasn’t much of an adjustment period to the AHL when he made the jump to San Diego.
Like with the vast majority of prospects, adding strength will be necessary to play the style he’ll project to play at the NHL level, which is that of a player hard to defend due to his protection skills, IQ, and change-of-pace ability. In the flow of a game, he could stand to be stronger on his edges to drive more power through his lower half, as well as move his feet more consistently with the puck on his stick, dictating play to a higher degree.
Though Verbeek has mentioned his preference to give McQueen a long runway, if he proves to progress quickly in rookie camp, training camp, and/or the start of the season, he could fill an important, immediate need on the Ducks’ depth chart with Terry injured and the team’s previously relied-on secondary scoring (Chris Kreider, Alex Killorn, Frank Vatrano) either due for another subtraction or facing potential regression caused by advanced age.
The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures.
We are continuing to look at potential options for the Sabres, now that veteran Patrick Kane has returned with Chicago. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.
Kekalainen ideally is looking for someone who could make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, or someone who can fill the leadership gap and/or add some snarl and sandpaper to the middle-six, with the trade of Jordan Greenway to Chicago.
Where will Connor Hellebuyck end up?
Forward Rickard Rakell, similar to teammate Bryan Rust, was expected to be a trade commodity last season, but the Pittsburgh Penguins unexpected run to the playoffs nixed that plan. This season, many are expecting the Pens to compete for the playoffs again, but with veterans Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson another year older, GM Kyle Dubas could become a seller closer to the trade deadline if Pittsburgh falls behind in the playoff race.
Rakell was acquired as a deadline addition in 2022 from Anaheim, and except for a subpar season in 2023-24, has scored 20 or more goals each season in the Steel City. After scoring a career-high 35 goals in 2025, the 33-year-old Swede notched 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists) in just 60 games.
As with Rust, Rakell is an enticing option for Kekalainen since he would not be a rental (with two years left at $5 million AAV entering the season), but unlike his teammate, he has an eight-team no-trade clause for the rest of his contract. Dubas would likely be looking for young prospects in a trade since the Penguins are attempting to reset while keeping their aging veterans.
Buffalo has enough in their prospect pipeline to acquire Rakell, but his availability likely would not be until the All-Star break, when it is firmly ascertained whether the Pens are in the playoff mix or not.
Give team president Tim Connelly and the brain trust in Minnesota credit: They realized that the road they had gone down, a road that took them to consecutive Western Conference Finals, had reached a dead end. They made a U-turn and reshaped the roster this summer. Dramatically.
The Timberwolves that take the court in October will be radically overhauled in style and key personnel from just a season ago. Check out this likely starting five:
LaMelo Ball. Anthony Edwards. Jonathan Kuminga. Jaden McDaniels. Rudy Gobert.
It's a roster a lot of fans — not just in Minnesota — are excited about. LaMelo Ball next to an MVP-level two guard in Edwards could be dynamic. Fans believe in the potential of Jonathan Kuminga — and so do the Timberwolves, who struggled to slow him in a 2025 playoff series against the Warriors. Rudy Gobert is still a defensive force in the paint.
But are the Timberwolves really improved? Or just different?
Questions Minnesota must answer
That high-profile starting five comes with a lot of questions:
• Ball and Kuminga are immensely talented, and both have frustrated coaches and teammates in previous stops by not playing within the system and doing too much on their own.
• Kuminga took less money this season with a shorter deal so he could get back on the free agent market as soon as next season and get the payday he feels he deserves (which was not out there for him this summer). The Timberwolves need his athleticism at the four, but they also need him to play within the team system. Will he do that, or at times try to put up numbers at the expense of what is best for winning?
• LaMelo Ball is untested in the playoffs. In the play-in games last season, he scored 30 against Miami and hit the game-winner in overtime, but could/should have been ejected for taking Bam Adebayo's leg out, knocking him to the ground and out of the game. In the next play-in game, a loss to Orlando, Ball scored 23 points but on 7-of-17 shooting, had five assists and three turnovers, and was -9 (by far the best +/- of all the Hornet starters).
• With Gobert and Kuminga (and some questions about McDaniels' consistency), is there enough shooting?
• Ball is a defensive target for other teams. While he is surrounded by other quality defenders (and they can hide him some), can he step up more on that end?
• Edwards, Ball and Kuminga are all guys who prefer to operate with the ball in their hands, breaking guys down, then scoring or setting up the assist. At any moment, two of them have to play off the ball.
Overall, this is a Minnesota team that went from being huge, physical, and relying on defense, with hopefully just enough offense, to a much more dynamic offensive team but without the same depth and at least some questions about fit and defense.
Fans are excited about this team, but after talking to people in league circles over the past couple of months, there is plenty of skepticism. There is doubt Minnesota really improved after last season's 49 wins and second-round exit.
In the West, the Thunder and Spurs are the proven powerhouses we know will be elite. Then comes a group of four teams with a lot of potential but also a lot of questions: The Timberwolves, the Lakers, the Rockets and the Nuggets. Teams that are going to be good, but just how good? Can one of them break out and join the upper tier?
If the pieces fit...
Connelly and the Timberwolves front office gambled big on all those changes, but saw it as a bet worth making because more of the same wasn't going to work (and could have led to an increasingly frustrated Edwards, who is extension-eligible next summer).
Sometimes big bets pay off.
An Edwards and Ball backcourt has the potential to be one of the best in the league, a high-octane offensive engine that drives a lot of wins. Kuminga may thrive as an athletic four in the role Chris Finch and the Timberwolves lay out for him. Defense and shooting may be questions we wondered why we asked about in the first place.
If Connelly's bet pays off, if all the puzzle pieces fit together, this is at worst the third-best team in the West and one that is a threat to the existing powers in Oklahoma City and San Antonio. A return to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in four years would absolutely be on the table (and maybe more).
But there are a lot of questions to answer before we get to that point, and don't be surprised if this team stumbles out of the gate a little as everyone tries to settle into their roles.
Ultimately, the fans may be right — this team is going to produce highlights and should rack up a lot of wins. But are they contenders? Did they improve? Color me and a lot of people skeptical.
Either way, there may be no more must-watch team in the league this season than Minnesota.
The Dolphins have been mired in mediocrity in recent years.
But with a new General Manager in Jon-Eric Sullivan and a new head coach in Jeff Hafley, the team’s path back to prominence may be a long one.
Hafley admitted as much in an interview with Stephen A. Smith that was released this week.
“Success is not gonna be measured in wins and losses this year — and I know nobody wants to hear that,” Hafley said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. “I want to see where we end and how far we can take this thing, and how much we develop these players ... Success for me is gonna be we go on that field and we play so hard that even you turn it on and say, 'man those guys are flying around.'
"I just think this year's so much about developing who we are as a football team, finding the right guys and by the end of the year saying, ‘We've got something real powerful moving forward.’”
The personnel moves the Dolphins have made over the course of the offseason signal that building the club is going to be a process. But getting some Ws along the way will make a difference, showing that Miami is moving in the right direction.
Sean McVay is looking to score with the Rams 2026 opening roster (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In the final stages of building out their 2026 roster, the Los Angeles Rams took time out to knock off their roommates, the L.A. Chargers, 20-18 in the preseason finale. In perfect Hollywood fashion, the game and roster build was shrouded in mystery, a last-minute plot twist, and a touch of drama.
For the Rams newcomers, this roster was gong to be tough to make, there were just a few positions in play. General Manager Les Snead has filled the coffers with players that fit into Head coach Sean McVay’s exacting protocols. The Rams coaching staff has put together a mentally/physically tough squad that plays hard to the whistle.
Here’s my final roster reset, an opening 53 projection (players in bold), a 17-man practice squad (PS), and individual snap counts (in parentheses) from the Rams/Chargers game.
Quarterback (3)
Matthew Stafford, Ty Simpson (48), Stetson Bennett
No changes, the only debate is the “official’ naming of QB#2. Simpson looked decisive and sharp on the short throws and it was cool to see Matthew Caldwell (26) get some play time. McVay doesn’t usually give his QB#4 camp arms that much action.
TRENDING: Ty Simpson’s BEST PASSES from his first preseason in the NFL.
All of the roster battle debate went out the window before kickoff with the trade of Jarquez Hunter. The Rams do not usually give up on draft picks, unless their just not a fit. I’m going with Dean Conners (38) over Jordan Watwers (36) for a PS berth.
Wide receiver (6)
Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith, Tutu Atwell
Welcome home, Tutu. “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”
His addition almost assures that both CJ Daniels (34) and Brennan Presley (53) are the odd men out. Both are likely destined for the PS. I thought Presley was outstanding throughout the preseason slate, the best of the L.A. receivers. Tyler Scott (42) showed flashes over the preseason, but as is in his past, not near enough to justify a roster spot. Goodbye to Tru Edwards (38) and Alex Bachman (32).
Tight end (5)
Colby Parkinson, Terrance Ferguson, Tyler Higbee, Davis Allen, Max Klare (41)
No surprises, most fans would agree that this was always going to be the lineup. Mark Redman (24) to the PS for sure and the Rams initial monetary investment in Dan Villari (20) gets him there as well. Rohan Jones (12) only received a handful mop-up offensive reps over three games.
Offensive line (10)
Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, Warren McClendon, Beaux Limmer, David Quessenberry, Justin Dedich, Keagan Trost, Dylan McMahon
Throwing in Dylan McMahon as the surprise 10th offensive lineman, he really played solidly in the first two games and got the night off in the finale. RG Austin Blaske, C Wyatt Bowles, LT AJ Arcuri, and RT Bryce Henderson all played every snap, 74. Bill Murray (30) was the fifth starter. In the first two drives, against most of the Chargers first teamer’s, they had their hands full, but over a body of work, all handled themselves quite well. Blake Hance stepped in for Murray.
Tough battle for the PS. As much as I liked Wyatt Bowles effort and C/G versatility, the combination of AJ Arcuri, Austin Blaske and Bill Murray offers the Rams comprehensive versatility insurance.
Special teams (3)
Ethan Evans, Harrison Mevis, Joe Cardona
No need to worry about the specialists, all three are solid. Again, double-teaming the gunner’s on punt returns, could really open things up. Upgrade onkick coverage? Well, fans will believe it when they see it.
Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford, Tyler Davis, Ty Hamilton
The defensive interior, as a whole, has not played well in preseason. Bill Norton (30) has led the way, he’s tough to move, but doesn’t get much push. Tim Keenan (24) needs plenty of seasoning. Larrell Murchison (26) looks to be near the end. Although Payton Zdroik (27) and Jaxson Moi (27) both looked to have improved over three games, neither are ready to contend with higher grade competition.
The biggest recipient of the defensive line’s ho-hum play will be Bailey. I think the Rams will want to protect him, he strikes me as the only player at the bottom of the roster that would not clear waivers. Darryl Peterson (42) improved incrementally over his three outings and wins a PS role. Latecomers Tomon Fox (45) and Devean Deal (23) were always here as camp bodies.
Darryl Peterson has been going crazy… someone to look at during final cuts 👀 possibly a practice squad player. pic.twitter.com/964EkMKBFQ
Nate Landman, Omar Speights, Shaun Dolac, Grant Stuard
Another position where the end result was never in doubt. Nikhai Hill-Green (49) got in a lot of work over three games and while not outstanding, showed enough for a PS berth. Elias Neal (21) is cut from the same cloth, a good guy to have on the practice squad. Monty Rice (26) was added just for preseason games.
Safety (5)
Kamren Curl, Quentin Lake, Kamren Kinchens, Jaylen McCollough, Nick Andersen (8)
I’m going to stay with Andersen (8) making the 53. He appears to be from the Rams toughness/effort/IQ mold and played generally well. Nate Valcarcel (42) doesn’t justify a opening roster bid, but is a good prospect for the PS. Alex Cook (49) could challenge for the PS, but doesn’t have as much growth potential. Coaches love Tanner Ingle (29) for his hustle and work ethic, but he still struggles to take good angles.
The Rams got Cam Lampkin (36) plenty of work both outside and in the slot, but I’m not sure his preseason play was enough to crack the billet. AZ Hamilton (44) had some flashes and will get development work on the practice squad. Didn’t see enough consistency from Alex Johnson (17) over three games, but he could sneak onto the PS. Nyzier Fourqurean (39) is in the same boat. Steven Gilmore (10) mopped up.
Practice squad (17)
RB Dean Conners
WR Brennan Presley
WR CJ Daniels
TE Mark Redman
TE Dan Villari
OL Austin Blaske
OL Bill Murray
OL AJ Arcuri
DL Tim Keenan
DL Bill Norton
E Darryl Peterson
LB Nikhai Hill-Green
LB Elias Neal
S Nate Valcarcel
CB Cam Lampkin
CB AZ Hamilton
P Jack Bouwmeester (Exchange)
The AD effect and final roster thoughts
If the Rams do come to terms and activate Aaron Donald by Monday, I would guess that edge Wesley Bailey becomes the odd man out. Bailey does strike me as the likely most sought after of the Rams final cuts and could therefore be snapped up, but 9 of 10 Rams fans would prefer Donald back in horns over a youngster who still needs a lot of development work.
The opening roster may be in line for a couple of tweaks before the opener with the 49ers, depending on a few outcomes. Fans are still in the dark about about possible suspensions to Alaric Jackson and Puka Nacua, while the severity of Keagan Trust’s hamstring also needs adjudication. And of course, the Rams Pro Personnel Department will be scouring the waiver wire and practice squads, when set, for any possible poach candidates the braintrust favors.
Tell the forum about your opening roster thoughts!
Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (9) against the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The New England Patriots officially traded wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans this week, receiving safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028th seventh-round draft pick in return.
Boutte’s departure comes after a long offseason full of speculation over his future.
The 24-year old requested a trade this past spring as he enters a contract year and was set to see both his playing time and production dip after the Patriots upgraded their wide receiver depth chart with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. Mike Vrabel even revealed Boutte would have been inactive during the season, barring injuries.
As New England’s wide receiver room remained deep even beyond Brown and Doubs, the decision was made to move off of Boutte, who never eclipsed the 600-yard mark, to add depth elsewhere on the roster and open up more opportunities for players like Kyle Williams.
But for a Patriots team that remains Super Bowl hopeful — where they currently are tied with the fifth-highest odds on FanDuel Sportsbook to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this season — many believed the team should have kept the pass catcher, who has strong chemistry with quarterback Drake Maye.
That is why in the results of the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, 30% of participants voted the trade as a neutral C.
Much of comment section agreed, largely do to what was viewed as a minimal return:
SlotMachinePlayer
The grade for this draft depends on two things:
Brown staying healthy, since Boutte was the guy most likely to fill that role if he’s hurt.
Reed turning into a useful depth player; something Boutte was.
The draft pick was meh. Could have likely gotten a higher comp pick if Boutte went elsewhere at the end of the year. Looking like a D right now, since safety wasn’t a position of need, and Reed didn’t play much.
PatriotPapa
C. Should have gotten a much higher draft pick beyond the 1-for-1 player trade. Patriots had Houston needing to make the trade having just lost Jayden Higgins with torn ACL. Getting much needed help in run defense was a solid move, but a higher draft pick IN 2027 should have been demanded.
For Pats Sake
F- Patriots got fleeced. Should have been for safety Jaylen Reed and a 2027 3rd or 4th Round Pick. Instead we got a freaking 2028 7th and a player that has not been as productive as Boutte.
Sportsbozo52
I think they got what they wanted. A viable player and a 28 draft choice. Boutte will do well in Texas. May he continue to grow! I am a fan of his and will remain a fan of his, just not when he plays the Patriots. I don’t know much about Jaylin Reed, let’s hope he sticks with the Patriots and can be a contributor for the upcoming season.
new_phal3123
I think C+ in the sense that it’s just right down the middle. It’s the reality of the market for that type of WR. I think Boutte is a valuable player but in his role with 1 year left, there’s just not a huge market. The plus comes from getting an immediate contributor rather than just a future day 3 pick.
Todger
Thirty two teams could be looking for a replacement WR, due to a season ending injury, within one week of the season start
All in all, this week’s survey results look as follows:
Some were in favor of the trade, as 5% of voters graded the move as an A with 24% giving the deal a B. That may have to do with the potential of Jaylen Reed taking on a larger defensive role in New England and becoming the third safety the team was looking for to pair with Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson.
Most fans were on the opposite end of the spectrum, however, as 16% of voters grading the trade as a F with another 25% awarding it a D.
SAN DIEGO, CA — After three portions completed, it’s come down to the final duo of this Los Angeles Kings series. It is timing that brings us to this point, as it’s the most convoluted and suspect aspect of this franchise going into the new season. It’s a massive reason why I saved it for last, and it’s going to be heavily scrutinized as the season moves along.
Who is the number one center? Easy.
This is the clearest, easiest piece of what is a convoluted puzzle heading into 2026-27. This has been a question despite having a top prospect whose ceiling has become suspect due to inconsistencies, a poor build around him, and a fleeting overarching plan the front office has failed to execute. Quinton Byfield, despite the negative superlatives regarding production, is the number one in Los Angeles. He’s had some ups and downs in LA but has found a floor, not a ceiling, a sign of hope from the franchise’s front office.
He’s broken through and flirted with 50 points over the last three seasons, breaking it twice, coming up short last season with 49. He’s now had two campaigns in the Kings system as a top-six center, boasting 45+ points, and has done so with limited talent on his flanks and a slogged-backed, defensive-grinding system to play under.
He will finally have elite capacity on both flanks, which at even strength will be a major boost to a player who has landed himself over the last season in the upper half of production amongst the league’s forwards (out of 204 forwards who logged 2,600+ minutes over the last three seasons, Byfield is 86th in goals, 55th in assists, 68th in points). Now he hasn’t broken into the top 30, a select group that rebrands itself as elite in even strength production, and for a player that a franchise desperately needs to break through that barrier, there’s cause for concern.
It will be a test that could sink or swim his ceiling moving forward, but his underlying relative analytics represent an excellent defensive player with higher offensive upside who could use new wingers (204 forward grouping, 29th in CF%, 24% in FF, 40th in SF%, 24th in GF%, 29th in SCF%, and 18th in HDGF%).
His production vs. on-ice relative rates suggest a coupling with elite wingers that could drastically boost his output.
What is killing Byfield’s overall production is the lack of points on special teams. He is rapidly heading towards stepping into a role he hasn’t fully been able to carry off yet, mostly spending time rotating between the first and second units, with the ladder being a unit he has anchored. Sinking him further is a sub-50% faceoff percentage that undermines his ability to retain possession on the man-advantage. While it is a niche skill that has its place in hockey and can sometimes be overlooked for certain players, it is absolutely needed on the man advantage and on the penalty kill.
On the penalty kill, he is excellent, with rates that are either elite or nipping away at elite (SA/60, xGA/60, SCA/60, HDCA/60), and some rates are a cause for concern (GA/60, HDGA/60). These last two (GA/60, HDGA/60) are heavily skewed based on the performance on the netminder, as Byfield’s individual relative rates of suppression are fringing upon an elite penalty killer.
Given his excellent baseline for defensive suppression, a clear tarmac for an increased arsenal of EVs offense, and ample opportunity for added production on the man advantage, there is certainly room for optimism for Byfield to firmly take hold of being the team’s number one center.
Now then, that’s the vision of the front office. If that 50-point production benchmark is the ceiling with these changes, then boy-oh-boy, the team’s outlook is rather dim. The retirement of franchise legend Anze Kopitar, the trade of Phillip Danault last season, and the wreckage caused by the Pierre Luc Dubois acquisition have left the center positioning in damage control mode. This assessment isn’t just a bird’s-eye view, but something plain and clear during the tenure of General Manager Ken Holland.
The center decisions of Holland sync rather nicely with the discussion of the other part of the ‘center duo’. His moves suggest a path that appears reactive rather than proactive, despite the greater likelihood of a timeframe of knowledge surrounding the decline of Kopitar’s brilliant career. Rob Blake tried to be proactive regarding this very aspect, the center roster column, and it backfired. For the roster under Holland’s reactive heel, it’s realistically a trio, not a duo, that has two insurance policies that carry the weight of unease.
Behind Byfield is a duo in itself and not the duo that comes knocking down any doors. Scott Laughton is a capable shutdown centerman who was acquired in a marginal push towards the playoffs last season, in the wake of the Kevin Fiala injury and Artemi Panarin's cancel-out moment.
Laughton re-upped in the offseason with the Kings and was joined by free agent Erik Haula. Laughton is a respectable defensive depth piece, and Haula, in his prime, was a respectable, speedy offensive depth piece.
Depth pieces. The team needed a top-six center and got depth pieces.
To be clear, there are quantifiable labels attached to each player, but Haula might actually be the better defensive player at this stage of his career, with excellent penalty-killing metrics that bode well for his projected partnership with Joel Armia. For Laughton, at this point, just like most of Laughton’s small tenure in the post-deadline world for the Kings, he is likely to be a faceoff specialist who can handle tough assignments. Both players are excellent in the dot. Out of 204 forwards who have logged 2,600+ minutes in the last three seasons, Laughton is the 37th-best, with Haula at 27th-best.
The fact that these two are holding center spots due to a major departure is entirely out of a Holland playbook, reusing the same play to some extent, filling the void left by Vladislav Gavrikov with Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci (Jordan Spence booted for more Brandt Clarke exposure). Now Kopitar retires, and the team does patch work with depth centermen while Byfield gets more exposure. The playbook is clear; it’s just a questionable one, and looking at the recent body of work, both centers under Byfield are not remotely shoe-ins for a 2C slot but rather platoon-type rotation depending on matchups.
The numbers will typically speak for themselves, and so will the actions and actionable words from the General Manager. These words, such as Adrian Kempe being discussed as playing some center, and actions like when the team dipped its toe into unknown waters by deploying Alex Laferriere at center. Both are options per Holland.
Is this patchwork a pivot towards something more grandiose? Because in the interim, this is quite the opposite. Taking the hit to pivot towards something else makes sense, but does the front office really think that way? With the acquisition of Panarin last season, I don’t think this team is in “take a hit to make a play mode”.
Haula may very well end up on the wing, allowing one of their works-in-progress-type centermen in Kempe or Laferriere to step in. But let’s full stop there: A contender isn’t figuring out who to deploy as a 2C. A pretender, maybe, as a platoon of depth players and two wingers-turned-centermen represent a team patching holes in their boat as they gradually sink.
The Kings do not have a center duo. They will rely on their biggest strength, at the wing, to either supplement the issue or at least saddle a Ford Focus with Ferraris on the wings. They have a project in a 1C; they are finally giving the full grace to either take off or fall flat. The Kings will field Kempe, Panarin, Fiala, Mats Zuccarello, Trevor Moore, Armia, Corey Perry, and Laferriere on the wing. That’s an impressive group, as we’ve covered in our wings’ duo series, but it will have a single point of failure anchoring it.
That center duo isn’t a thing in LA. What it is is a suspect trio of a team pretending to contend in the now.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 15: Montorie Foster Jr. #87 of the Seattle Seahawks gets set during the second quarter during the NFL preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lumen Field on August 15, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Seattle Seahawks are just hours away from their preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. Once Friday night is over, they’ll have until Sunday afternoon to cut their 90-man roster down to an initial 53 players for the regular season.
To get you up to speed on the state of Seattle’s roster, this is a final unofficial depth chart check for August. In fact, it’s so unofficial that the flip card for the Chiefs game is already obsolete. Chris Paul Jr was waived with an injury designation, so he’s off the linebacker depth chart, while offensive tackle Kellen Diesch has joined the team as a waiver wire claim. We’ll still roll with it because it’s 97.8% accurate in terms of players who are on the team.
Seattle Seahawks offense
Irv Charles being that high up the unofficial depth chart seems a bit odd. He’s never had an NFL target in four seasons and was brought in for special teams, but he’s put up a whopping zero preseason snaps. I’d consider Foster to be higher up the ladder despite how this reads.
With Mason Richman on IR, it’ll be interesting to see if Bryce Cabeldue really is the go-to at left guard for the Chiefs game over Beau Stephens, who had been with the third-team in preseason alongside Cabeldue. When Richman went down, Cabeldue took Mason’s left guard snaps.
Zach Charbonnet is obviously at the back-end of the depth chart for injury reasons and will go on regular season PUP by the end of this weekend.
The aforementioned Diesch is listed as a tackle and would be at the back-end, much like the recently signed Derrick Graham.
Seattle Seahawks defense
We obviously have to cross out Paul, although it doesn’t change much regarding Smith and Echols’ respective statuses. If nothing else, absent Julian Neal, almost all of the defensive depth chart is pretty much how it’s actually played out in preseason.
Incidentally, similar to Charbonnet, Emmanwori’s injury has him deceivingly at the back of the chart even though he’s not even on PUP anymore. He also cannot go back on PUP, and unless his ankle surgery recovery had some sort of setback I can’t envision him starting the regular season on IR.
Seattle Seahawks special teams
Cody White has been the main kick returner in preseason alongside Emmanuel Henderson. He’s also had punt return duties but I imagine in the regular season it will just be Shaheed and Horton (whenever Tory is back from his mysterious injury).
The Edmonton Oilers spent much of the summer putting together a roster with enough options to withstand the injuries that inevitably show up over an 82-game season. Of course, they're now dealing with it right now.
Matt Savoie, Mattias Janmark, Frederik Andersen and Alec Regula are all expected to miss training camp next month. Savoie and Andersen were injured during offseason training, while Janmark and Regula are still recovering from medical procedures. Edmonton hasn't provided return dates for any of them. General manager Stan Bowman has since said Savoie will miss some time without expecting his absence to approach half a season, while Andersen is expected to be out longer.
Four injuries before camp opens on Sept. 16 isn't exactly the start Mike Babcock had in mind. It does provide an early answer to one of the questions surrounding Edmonton's roster throughout the summer.
How deep are the Oilers?
We're about to get a decent look.
Savoie played all 82 games last season, finished with 18 goals and 37 points and had worked his way onto Connor McDavid's line late in the year. Over his final 24 regular-season games, Savoie scored nine goals and 19 points. He spent 203 five-on-five minutes with McDavid during that stretch, with Edmonton holding a 13-7 advantage in goals during those minutes.
His absence leaves an opening in the top six. Isaac Howard and Colton Dach, Kasperi Kapanen will be the ones up. Vasily Podkolzin is an established top-six player for this team, and Babcock will have plenty of time during camp to move players around McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Further down the lineup are more problems. Savoie logged more than 132 minutes shorthanded last season, leading Oilers forwards in penalty-killing usage, so Babcock enters camp missing two forwards, including Janmark, who were expected to contribute in that area. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson, Kapanen, Mathieu Joseph and Josh Samanski are among the other options to take up more minutes on the PK.
Samanski, too, now has a better chance of staying in Edmonton all season. The same applies to Howard and Quinn Hutson.
Bowman mentioned those three when discussing the injuries on Thursday with Mark Spector, along with Eduards Tralmaks and Aku Raty.
That's where the depth Edmonton assembled over the summer starts to matter.
Samanski provel reliable enough in the NHL last season. Howard was already expected to push to stay in the lineup. Dach is ready for a more established role. Mathieu Joseph is another experienced winger, and Jason Dickinson is another veteran who can play defensively and on the penalty kill.
There are actual players available when somebody gets hurt. Edmonton spent plenty of seasons without that luxury.
The concern is where those players are being asked to play. Replacing a fourth-line winger for a few weeks is manageable. Finding somebody to take Savoie's minutes beside McDavid carries different, particularly after the way Savoie finished last season.
It's probably going to be Howard could. He can score and is slightly familiar with it already. A strong camp could force Babcock to keep him around when Savoie returns. Dach has a similar opportunity after spending the summer talking about adding more of Zach Hyman's game to his own. Samanski has a path through the bottom six and penalty kill.
These are the situations teams talk about when they praise their organizational depth. Edmonton has spent time adding players who should be capable of moving into the lineup, and September should prove it that work has paid off.
Of course, goaltending is a little harder to sort out.
Andersen signed with Edmonton on July 1 and was expected to be part of a three-goalie tandem with Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi. His absence leaves the bulk of the training-camp workload in Jarry and Levi, and Bowman has indicated Andersen will be given time to recover rather than being pushed back too soon.
Levi's was supposed to give Edmonton another NHL option in goal. That option is already needed before the preseason has started.
Regula's absence won't have the same effect on the opening lineup, although it removes another defenceman from Babcock's camp. He appeared in 29 games for Edmonton last season and gives the organization another injury replacement on the blue line.
The Oilers have spent years looking for enough depth to survive stretches without regulars. Their best players have carried enormous workloads, their bottom six has gone through constant changes and injuries have occasionally exposed how quickly the options thin out once the lineup gets past the regular 12 forwards and six defencemen.
This year's group includes several players sitting outside the obvious opening-night lineup who have played in the NHL or have reasonable expectations of getting there soon. Howard, Samanski and Hutson have better roles available to them. Levi gets more work in goal. Dach should have room to move around the lineup.
Edmonton wanted enough depth to handle injuries without scrambling every time somebody went down. Four players are already unavailable, including a top-six winger and one of the goaltenders brought in this summer.
Training camp hasn't even started, and the depth chart is already moving.
Tarik Skubal returns to Detroit for the first time since being traded at the Deadline to the Dodgers when Los Angeles (80-54) takes on the Tigers (62-71).
While still comfortably in first place in the NL West, the Dodgers head to Motown following a dismal trip to Atlanta. Each game of the three-game series was decided by a single run with the Braves winning all three. They took the series finale 1-0. Chris Sale was brilliant pitching arguably the game of the season in major league baseball. Sale threw a complete game, five-hit shutout. The veteran did not allow a walk and struck out 11 Dodgers. While LA is battling for home field advantage in the playoffs, the Tigers are in a far more dire position following a lost series to the Rays earlier this week. Detroit sits 5.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot.
Friday marks an emotional homecoming for Skubal (8-7, 2.91 ERA), who won back-to-back Cy Young Awards with Detroit and became the face of the Tigers' rotation before being dealt to Los Angeles. Since joining the Dodgers, he has continued to pitch effectively but short of dominant, posting a 3.38 ERA in his first four starts with the club while striking out 30 batters in 24 innings. Drew Anderson (4-5, 4.09 ERA) gets the ball for the Tigers. The righthander has lasted five innings and given up three runs in each of his last two starts.
Lets dive further into today’s game and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Peacock offers one of the most comprehensive live sports streaming lineups available today, bringing together the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Premier League, NCAA football, NCAA basketball, golf, motorsports, and major global sporting events in a single service.
The Latest Odds: Dodgers vs. Tigers
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: LA Dodgers (-181), Detroit Tigers (+168)
Spread: Dodgers -1.5 (-107), Tigers +1.5 (-113)
Total: 7.5 runs
Probable Starting Pitchers – Dodgers vs. Tigers for August 28
Tigers: Drew Anderson Season Totals: 81.1 IP, 4-5, 4.09 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 91K, 30 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! Dodgers vs. Tigers
Gleyber Torres is 3-10 in his career against Tarik Skubal
In his 4 starts with the Dodgers, Tarik Skubal has struck out 6, 6, 7, and 11 opposing hitters
Drew Anderson has struck out at least 4 hitters in each of his last 3 starts
Freddie Freeman has hit safely in 4 of his last 5 games (6-20)
Shohei Ohtani is 3-20 over his last 5 games
Kyle Tucker saw his 3-game hitting streak (3-11) snapped in his last game on Wednesday (0-5)
Max Muncy has 3 HRs and 8 RBI over his last 10 games
Kevin McGonigle is 3-20 over his last 5 games
Spencer Torkelson is just 3-31 over his last 11 games
Top Betting Trends & Insights: Dodgers vs. Tigers
The Dodgers are 54-79 on the Run Line this season
The Tigers are 72-61 on the Run Line this season
The OVER has cashed 57 times in Detroit’s 133 games this season (57-70-6)
The OVER has cashed 62 times in LA’s 134 games this season (62-71-1)
Expert picks & predictions: Dodgers vs. Tigers for August 28
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s game between the Dodgers and the Tigers:
Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Dodgers on the Run Line.
Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 7.5
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
Jun 9, 2026; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat (10) looks on during minicamp at Arizona Cardinals Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cardinals fans and fans across the country.
The Arizona Cardinals have tried to fix their defense over the last couple of seasons and yet for fans, it is incredibly worrisome.
That is why when we asked what position group are fans most worried about, the overwhelming amount picked a defensive position, with the edge position being the one most are concerned about.
Fans are concerned about the entire front seven of the defense and it makes sense. They were bad last year and they didn’t do much to change things. Yes, Roy Lopez is back, and they added Andrew Billings, Jack Gibbens and Andrew Wingard, but that did not change things for fans.
And of course they did nothing at the edge position, so that makes sense that it is the biggest concern.
It is also interesting that the offensive line, despite heavy investment is still the second biggest concern out of all position groups.
The thing is, I think every team can say this about the offensive line.
Of course when you are seeing the yo-yoing of Jeremiyah Love’s rushing total week-to-week from our friends over at FanDuel Sportsbook, it makes sense that there are concerns. Love’s total plummeted last week to 725.5 yards on the season, and moved back up to 775.5 yards this week. Does the line concern you that much combined with the ankle issue?